Martin Guitar
Last week I went with the scouts on a trip to Martin Guitar in Nazareth, PA. I’ve lived in the Lehigh Valley for over 20 years and I have never visited this facility! The tour was a real treat, Martin does a nice job letting you really get up close and personal. I recommend it to anyone in the area.
Martin is a wonderful combination of technology and craftsmanship. Many modern, high tech machines are used yet the guitars are touched by human hands almost continuously from the preparation of the raw materials all the way through the final tuning before they leave the door. The workshop id clean, well laid out, and all in all it looks like a nice place to work as far as a factory environment goes.
Martin established their factory in Nazareth in 1859 and has operated continuously since then. They currently have about 500 employees in Nazareth (if I remember correctly) and they also produce guitars in Mexico. The guitars are very expensive and with customizations can easily reach into the tens of thousands of dollars! I guess I won’t be playing one any time soon but it was fun to watch them being made.
